Devices, systems, and methods for performing in-vivo imaging of passages or cavities within a body, and for gathering information other than or in addition to image information (e.g., temperature information, pressure information), are known in the art. Such devices may include, inter alia, various endoscopic imaging systems, autonomous capsule image systems and devices for performing imaging in various body cavities.
An in-vivo image capture device may transmit image data through, for example, wireless channels. Reducing the amount of data per image to be transmitted may, in some systems enable faster transmission rates, lower band transmission channels, and/or larger images (more data) to be transmitted through possibly lower band transmission channels. Reducing the amount of data may, for example, be by compression, dilution, or other known methods.
Devices and systems that may use known compression algorithms such as, JPEG, MPEG, FELIX, LOCO, etc., for reducing the amount of data per image to be, for example, transmitted or stored are known in the art. Compression methods, such as these may need significant processing power or speed. An in-vivo imaging system may benefit in size and cost if the processing power or speed may be maintained at a minimum.
When capturing images with optical systems that may in some way yield spatially varying resolution due to distortion, for example, an optical system that may include a convex or other type of mirror or reflective element, or other elements that may distort a view, one region in the captured image may have a lower resolution while another region in the same captured image may have a higher resolution. Applying, for example, a single data reduction ratio, for example a preset compression ratio, over the entire spatial area of an image may result in, for example, under sampling of one part of the reduced image and over sampling of another part of the reduced image.